Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent
to admissibility is not required
with respect to the following:

The following items of evidence are self-authenticating; they
require no extrinsic evidence
of authenticity in order to be admitted:

(1) Domestic public documents under seal. A document
bearing a seal purporting to be that
of the United States, or of any State, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession
thereof, or of the Panama Canal Zone, or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or of a
political subdivision, department, officer, or agency thereof, and a signature purporting to
be an attestation or execution.

(1) Domestic Public Documents That Are Sealed and Signed. A
document that bears:

(A) a seal purporting to be that of the United States; any state,
district, commonwealth,
territory, or insular possession of the United States; the former Panama Canal Zone; the Trust
Territory of the Pacific Islands; a political subdivision of any of these entities; or a
department, agency, or officer of any entity named above; and

(B) a signature purporting to be an execution or
attestation.

(2) Domestic public documents not under seal. A
document purporting to bear the signature
in the official capacity of an officer or employee of any entity included in paragraph (1),
having no seal, if a public officer having a seal and having official duties in the district or
political subdivision of the officer or employee certifies under seal that the signer has the
official capacity and that the signature is genuine.

(2) Domestic Public Documents That Are Not Sealed but Are
Signed and Certified. A
document that bears no seal if:

(A) it bears the signature of an officer or employee of an entity
named in Rule
902(1)(A); and

(B) another public officer who has a seal and official duties
within that same entity
certifies under seal, or its equivalent, that the signer has the official capacity and that the
signature is genuine.

(3) Foreign public documents. A document purporting to
be executed or attested in an
official capacity by a person authorized by the laws of a foreign country to make the
execution or attestation, and accompanied by a final certification as to the genuineness of the
signature and official position (i) of the executing or attesting person, or (ii) of any foreign
official whose certificate of genuineness of signature and official position relates to the
execution or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness of signature and official
position relating to the execution or attestation. A final certification may be made by a
secretary of embassy or legation, consul general, consul, vice consul, or consular agent of
the United States, or a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or
accredited to the United States. If reasonable opportunity has been given to all parties to
investigate the authenticity and accuracy of official documents, the court, for good cause
shown, may order that they be treated as presumptively authentic without final certification
or permit them to be evidenced by an attested summary with or without final
certification.

(3) Foreign Public Documents. A document that purports to be
signed or attested by a
person who is authorized by a foreign country's law to do so. The document must be
accompanied by a final certification that certifies the genuineness of the signature and
official position of the signer or attester, or of any foreign official whose certificate of
genuineness relates to the signature or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of
genuineness relating to the signature or attestation. The certification may be made by a
secretary of a United States embassy or legation; by a consul general, vice consul, or
consular agent of the United States; or by a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign
country assigned or accredited to the United States. If all parties have been given a
reasonable opportunity to investigate the document's authenticity and accuracy, the court
may, for good cause, either:

(A) order that it be treated as presumptively authentic
without final certification; or

(B) allow it to be evidenced by an attested summary
with or without final
certification.

(4) Certified copies of public records. A copy of an official
record or report or entry therein,
or of a document authorized by law to be recorded or filed and actually recorded or filed in
a public office, including data compilations in any form, certified as correct by the custodian
or other person authorized to make the certification, by certificate complying with paragraph
(1), (2), or (3) or complying with any law of the United States or of this
state.

(4) Certified Copies of Public Records. A copy of an official
record, or a copy of a
document that was recorded or filed in a public office as authorized by law, if the copy is
certified as correct by:

(A) the custodian or another person authorized to make the
certification; or

(B) a certificate that complies with Rule 902(1), (2), or (3), a
statute, or a rule
prescribed by the North Dakota Supreme Court.

(5) Official publications. Books, pamphlets, or other
publications purporting to be issued
by public authority.

(5) Official Publications. A book, pamphlet, or other publication
purporting to be issued by
a public authority.

(6) Newspapers and periodicals. Printed materials
purporting to be newspapers or
periodicals.

(6) Newspapers and Periodicals. Printed material purporting to be
a newspaper or
periodical.

(7) Trade inscriptions and the like. Inscriptions, signs, tags,
or labels purporting to have
been affixed in the course of business and indicating ownership, control, or
origin.

(7) Trade Inscriptions and the Like. An inscription, sign, tag, or
label purporting to have
been affixed in the course of business and indicating origin, ownership, or
control.

(8) Acknowledged documents. Documents accompanied by
a certificate of
acknowledgement executed in the manner provided by law by a notary public or other officer
authorized by law to take acknowledgements.

(8) Acknowledged Documents. A document accompanied by a
certificate of
acknowledgment that is lawfully executed by a notary public or another officer who is
authorized to take acknowledgments.

(9) Commercial Paper and Related Documents. Commercial
paper, a signature on it, and
related documents, to the extent allowed by general commercial law.

(10) Matters declared by statute. Any signature, document,
or other matter declared by
statute to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic.

(10) Presumptions Under a Statute. A signature, document, or
anything else that a statute
declares to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic.

(11) Certified Domestic Records of a Regularly Conducted
Activity. The original or a copy
of a domestic record that meets the requirements of Rule 803(6)(A)-(C), as shown by a
certification of the custodian or another qualified person that complies with a statute or a rule
prescribed by the North Dakota Supreme Court. Before the trial or hearing, the proponent
must give an adverse party reasonable written notice of the intent to offer the record, and
must make the record and certification available for inspection, so that the party has a fair
opportunity to challenge them.

(12) Certified Foreign Records of a Regularly Conducted Activity.
In a civil case, the
original or a copy of a foreign record that meets the requirements of Rule 902(11), modified
as follows: the certification, rather than complying with a statute or North Dakota Supreme
Court rule, must be signed in a manner that, if falsely made, would subject the maker to a
criminal penalty in the country where the certification is signed. The proponent must also
meet the notice requirements of Rule 902(11).

Rule 902 is based on Fed.R.Ev. 902. It represents a
relaxation of the common law
requirement of authentication by creating a presumption that certain documents and records
are authentic and thereby placing the burden of showing lack of
genuineness on the party
opposing introduction of the offered evidence. This has been done by statute for
certain
public documents, records, and certified copies. Rule 902 extends the benefits of this
presumption to private documents in which the risk of falsification is
slight.

Rule 902 was amended, effective March 1, 1990. The amendment is
technical in nature and
no substantive change is intended.

Rule 902 was amended, effective ______________, in response to
the December 1, 2011,
revision of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The language and organization of the rule were
changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology
consistent throughout the rules. There is no intent to change any result in any ruling on
evidence admissibility.

Cross Reference: N.D.R.Ev. 803 (Exceptions to the Rule Against
Hearsay - Regardless
of Whether the Declarant is Available as a Witness); N.D.R.Civ.P. 44 (Proving an Official
Record); N.D.R.Crim.P. 27 (Proof of Official Record).